Private schools delay results to collect tuition fee

Islamabad - A number of city’s private schools, mocking Islamabad High Court’s instruction have come up with a new modus operandi of delaying results time and again to compel parents to deposit the summer vacation fee.

A large number of parents, who have even deposited fee, expressing their concern over school managements’, “immoral act” of delaying results in quick successions said their Eid festivities were being spoiled to keep them in a fix.

Raza Muhammad, whose three siblings are enrolled with a well-known school system, expressing resentment said he has deposited fee to obtain results as he has to move home town in Sindh to celebrate Eid with family.

But school, he said, postponed results three times i.e 6, 8 and now 13th June. He said he is still not sure if they will be announced on given date, making us just impossible for them to leave the city.

Jarar Haider another father shared a message of a school’s administration which reads “Dear parents, due to an unforeseen technical error in our system, result compilation has been slightly delayed. The results will now be available on Wednesday 13th June”.

He said they (schools) were just waiting for a favourable decision from the court of law but their this “ selfish approach was spoiling their Eid festivities.”

“I received a telephone call from head office of my daughter’s school a day before her result announcement with clear direction to submit cash amount equal to two-month fees with the G-13 School branch,” Abbas Bukhari, a father of Montessori child said.

“The lady on behalf of school administration also made it clear not to visit school for collecting result if I failed to submit cash to the school’s branch manager” he added.

When the attention towards Court’s order for not paying fees against summer vacations was sought, she clearly replied “Our school policy will remain unchanged and parents have to pay school fees at any cost.”

The Branch Manager admitted that almost seventy per cent parents have paid the fee while only thirty per cent were waiting for court’s decision on the issue. He declined to comment on a question, “Why results were held then,” saying, “its our top management’s policy.”

Mubarak Hussain whose two siblings are enrolled in a private school said in a move earlier the private schools’ mafia circulated fake news in a section of press that the honourable High Court has announced its verdict in their favour. “The court’s Divisional Bench had just discussed the maintainability of their plea which is still to be decided and make it a case to bag money from more parents. He also asked for investigation of the fake news circulated with mala fide intention, disgracing honourable court.

Sibt e Hassan a High Court advocate, whose daughter is studying at one of the same school said, “I am afraid that the institutions meant to teach morality and make our generations law abiding citizens do not themselves own any moral obligation.”

He regretted if such schools with tall claims of following international standards were unable to follow laws of the land then, “what would be the situation in ordinary street schools”.

When contacted an official from Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA)

said that clear instructions have been given to the private educational institutions to withdraw any communication with parents compelling them to submit summer vacation fees.

However, an official of Islamabad Capital Administration confirmed that PIERA had written a letter to their department for taking strict action against 45 schools for violating the IHC’s verdict on controversial fee case which was pending for adjudication.

“A meeting between Chief Commissioner and private school owners is likely to take place in next week,” he added.